The Newsome Family
Episode summary Jo heads off to Tallahassee, Florida to help out single mom Blythe Newsome (38) who has six children: 13-year-old daughter Loughlin, 12-year-old daughter Aidan, 9-year-old son Daly, 8-year-old daughter Moira, 5-year-old daughter Elspeth and 3-year-old son Finn. Blythe was married to Roger (40) for nearly 13 years and lived in a huge suburban house. Due to financial reasons, the house was foreclosed. Later, Blythe's marriage fell apart, which made her take the kids and file for divorce. Now, Blythe lives a tiny house and has lost control of her kids. She is also grieving from the loss of her close family friend, Nana to breast cancer. Blythe doesn't even have her own bedroom and sleeps on the couch in the living room. Since the divorce, the kids have become disrespectful and have started back-talking. Blythe ends up giving in to her kids out of guilt for not being able to give them the life that they used to have. Can Jo help this family? Transcript Newsome Family transcript Recap Also see the episode recap at SheKnows.com . Observation During Jo's observation with the family, she notices that the kids do whatever they want. At one point, Daly locks himself in the upstairs closet and Blythe has to take the doorknob off with a screwdriver to get him out. The kids lives have changed after the loss of their nanny, Nana, who recently died of cancer. It is shown that Blythe is having a hard time moving on from her past. Even though Finn is three years old, he still drinks from a bottle and refuses to give it up. When Jo looks under the couch cushions, she finds junk food and crumbs. Blythe does all the housework and none of the kids have chores. The kids have no respect for their home and Elspeth gets her own way by throwing a fit. During dinner, Blythe is ordered around by her kids as they criticize the food they're eating. Parent Meeting During the parent meeting, Blythe tells Jo, "I can’t do it all! I can’t follow through." Jo feels that Blythe doesn't have pride in herself or her home. Then, Blythe is unable to handle it anymore and leaves the house in tears. Jo is able to convince her to come back inside and to finish the meeting. Jo Begins Teaching Jo makes Blythe drive to her old house where Blythe relives memories and says farewell to the house. After that, Blythe joins Daly to talk about how their family is going to help each other out. When Blythe gets rid of Finn's bottles, He throws a tantrum. Blythe says that she can't stand her son's crying, and wants to give in. After 45 minutes, Finn stops crying and Jo reminds Blythe that he may cry again tonight, and if he does, that she'll have to deal with it. But Finn will get used to drinking from a big kid cup. Jo also notices that there are all sorts of garbage underneath the couch. When Blythe assigns the kids chores, they complain about doing them, but eventually work together and clean the bathroom. Also, Jo buys a bed for Blythe and puts in the older girls' bedroom so Blythe won't be sleeping on the living room couch anymore. DVD Review After Jo leaves Blythe on her own for a few days, she shows Blythe DVD footage of how she did while Jo was away. Finn is doing a good job drinking from his new cup, but has developed a habit of peeing outside in the yard, instead of in the toilet. The kids fight over doing their chores, but eventually, they get it done. When it comes to dealing with the teenage and tweenage children, Blythe just argues with them. Jo's reinforcement Jo gives Blythe a book for her to keep track of Daly's behavior. She is also able to convince the family to participate in a breast cancer walk in memory of Nana. Then, Jo leaves the family for good. Trivia * This is one of the few families considered for a revisit in the 100th Episode Special. * This episode was filmed in August 2008, two months before its original airdate as seen in the 100th Episode Special. * This is the second family where a parent walks out during the Parent Meeting. Video Full Newsome Family episode on Vimeo Family members *Roger Newsome, 40 *Blythe Newsome, 38 *Loughlin Newsome, 13 *Aidan Newsome, 12 *Daly Newsome, 9 *Moira Newsome, 8 *Elspeth Newsome, 5 *Finn Newsome, 3 *Nana (deceased) Category:Divorce Episodes Category:Episodes Category:Season 5 Episodes Category:Single Parent Episodes Category:Episodes in Florida Category:Episodes that Deal with Loss of a Loved one Category:Toddler Episodes Category:Preschooler Episodes Category:Teenagers Episodes Category:Pre-Teen Episodes Category:School Age Children Episodes Category:Bye-Bye Bottle Episodes Category:Episodes with tantrum kids Category:Families with Six Children Category:No discipline episodes Category:No timeout episodes Category:Episodes with tantruming youngsters Category:US Episodes Category:Potty Training Episodes Category:Episodes with well behaved children Category:Episodes with Disrespectful Children Category:Families with an SUV Category:Episodes where a parent walks out of a Parent Meeting Category:Episodes with No Well Behaved Youngsters Category:Episodes with no disrespectful parents Category:Supernanny (U.S.) Season 5 Episodes